Infection Lumps under jaw - vet says it's food stuck in cheek pouch

patriciamarge · Dec 14, 2013

I noticed that my guinea pig had lumps under her jaw and they kept growing so I took her to the vet. When I got there the vet said it was food stuck in there and was super happy it wasn't a tooth problem. He flushed out her cheeks with a syringe and the lumps disappeared, but gave me antibiotics and things because he said there was a burr that got stuck and it caused inflammation. I noticed today, however that the lumps (and the food) had reappeared and I flushed it out with the syringe again, but it seems like things keep getting stuck there. Is this normal ? or am I just paranoid now and it's easy to see because she's a skinny pig? Anyone else had a similar problem ?

CallieLovesPigs · Dec 14, 2013

Is she eating OK? Like the same as she usually does?
It is uncommon for guinea pigs to use their cheek pouches. They usually eat their food and don't store it.
A picture may help, do you have one?

PiggieWigglies · Dec 14, 2013

Are you sure its not a tumor or something?

bpatters · Dec 14, 2013

I really tend to doubt that stuck food is the problem. Guinea pigs don't have cheek pouches the way hamsters do, and while they can have some mushed up food in their mouths, it's not usually enough to cause a lump.

The most likely cause of a lump in a pig's neck is cervical lymphadenitis, which is a bacterial infection. If treated early enough, antibiotics alone may be enough to clear it up, but if not, the lesions may need to be lanced and drained.

Is this an exotic vet you're seeing? If not, you need to find one. If it is CL, your pig needs appropriate treatment fairly quickly.

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Infection Lumps under jaw - vet says it's food stuck in cheek pouch

patriciamarge

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CallieLovesPigs

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PiggieWigglies

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bpatters

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